


From Both Worlds

by WishingRoses



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Drama, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Implied Relationships, Post-Episode s05e29-32 Change Your Mind, Pre-Movie, Slow Burn, Spinel still happens, Steven Goes to School, Steven needs a break, Suspence, Undercover, i mean it's high school so.., i'm gonna make ya'll hate Mr. Ritter, if you look in between the cracks, it just takes a year or so to happen, just a bit though, slow start, the Gems are super supportive of steven, will this be a good idea? who knows, you can't tell me they aren't his moms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-08 12:06:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21475750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishingRoses/pseuds/WishingRoses
Summary: When the Gems decide Steven should go to school, he is more than happy to commit. After all, he needs a break from all this Gem stuff, right? And, he gets to go to Connie's new school!Except, it's a little bit more difficult than that. To do this, Steven will have to be undercover, and not use his powers. But with bullies, Gem missions suddenly entwining with his new school life, suspicious classmates, and a strange secret about the school he's enrolling at, Steven will have to be extra careful if he wants to survive four years of this high school.But he can totally do that, right?
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran & Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran & Steven Universe & Original Human Character(s), Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Ruby/Sapphire (Steven Universe)
Comments: 35
Kudos: 118





	1. This Just In: Half-Human Boy Thinks He Can Survive Public School

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, wonderful fans of this wonderful show, and welcome to another completely unasked for but totally needed story about Steven Going to School! This is gonna be quite the adventure, despite the slow beginning, so buckle up, folks!
> 
> This story spams four years(probably)so this will be part of a series(i think) so stay tuned to that! Also, this is set in a canon divergence timeline after Change Your Mind, a kinda what if of mine where Steven enrolls at Connie's school and has some adventures there, but the movie still happens later on. As our Steven is a Home-schooled lucky boi, this can't have happened in canon without us knowing about it, and he's still in school in this story at the time of the movie so it can't just be a one-year thing. So, viola, canon divergence. A miracle, it is. 
> 
> Be warned though, I update sporadically as I am a busy bee who has way too many stories to be working on at once (save me) so be prepared for the occasional hiatus as I work on other fics. I'm sure you understand though considering our fandom...
> 
> That said, enjoy the fic! Feel free to send any suggestions in the comments about things you'd like to see in the story, ad I'm always open to ideas! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

“I think Steven should go to school.” 

Steven paused in going down the stairs, stopping just before the wall ends. Pearl’s statement had caught him off guard. Silently, he peers around the corner to where his moms are sitting around the couch, deep in conversation. Pearl, not noticing him, continues on. 

“Now I’m not saying it’s because we haven’t given him a proper education! I most definitely have seen to it that he get the right ‘schooling’, in my lessons. But lately, I’ve started to wonder if maybe he’s...missing something…”

Missing something? What could he be missing? He’s learned all his maths and science and reading from his daily lessons with Pearl. Not to mention all the history lessons - both Human and Gem. And he knew he was on track with the kids his age, the yearly academics tests he takes always showing he’s doing well, thanks to Pearl. So what’s all this about then?

Amethyst seems to be feeling the same way. “But I thought you’ve been teaching him everything.” She said, confusion on her face. “Why would he need to go to school if you’re here to just teach it all for him? And, knowing the yearly tests, we’ve all seen he’s doing great - probably even better than most kids his age, c’ept maybe Connie, but - school? Wouldn’t that just get in the way of his Important Gem Work?” 

“And not to mention, the Diamonds,” Garnet put in. “We don’t know for sure just yet whether or not they’ve truly been redeemed-” Ouch, Garnet, way to underestimate the powers of Redemption. “-and we all know they like to see Steven almost every day. If he were to go to school, that would put them at unease.” Garnet crossed her arms, looking very thoughtful.

“We wouldn’t want that.” 

Yeah. We wouldn’t want that. Steven knew that the Diamonds wouldn’t hesitate to come down to Earth to ‘visit him’ should he worry them enough. Any normal Human seeing that would have a heart attack. Any normal Human seeing any Gem would have probably have a heart attack. That was the other thing. 

But Pearl didn’t look like she was backing down. And Steven actually did want to see where she was going with this. Apparently so did Amethyst and Garnet, who all stopped their questions at seeing her ready to speak again. 

“As I was trying to tell you all,” said Pearl, looking a bit annoyed, “I’m starting to wonder if maybe Steven is missing out on his childhood.” 

Well, that certainly made everyone pause. Him especially. 

Pearl continued, unperturbed by the sudden, shocked silence from everyone else. “As we all know, Steven is unique. He’s both half Gem and half Human. He’s a part of both worlds, and he needs to be connected to both. But lately it’s been all about his Gem half. He’s been travelling the galaxy, seeking to better Homeworld, and that's great but...He needs to have a break from all that every now and then. Take a break from all the magic.” Steven’s eyes widen. “He should be experiencing a childhood as well, like the other kids his age. And, I fear, we’ve kind of took that away from him.” 

That...That hit hard. Steven’s heart began to race. Pearl….she may be right. Steven had been feeling rather exhausted lately, spent between figuring out his powers and conquering Homeworld. Maybe he does need a break. He looks back at the Gems. They all look somber. They look like they all _agree._

Garnet stands up. “I’ve made up my mind,” she says, hands on her hips. “Steven needs a break from magic. You’re right Pearl, he should go to school.” 

Pearl looks pleased. Her hands are clasped together as she says, “Oh, I knew you’d all agree! I knew that woman was right by this! And I’m sure Steven will agree as well. I’m sure he-” Pearl suddenly stops. Looks right at him. Steven gasps, he hadn’t realized he’d inched closer to the room. But Pearl’s face eases. She beckons him closer. 

“Steven! We are just talking about you!” Yeah. He knew. He’d heard. And what was that about a woman? “How would you like to go to school?” The Gems’ faces are expectant as they stare at him. Amethyst shoots him a lazy grin. 

Oh boy….

Xxxx

His Dad agrees on the spot. Steven is amazed at how quickly it takes. 

“Oh, I’ve always kinda wanted to see whether you’d like to first but...honestly I’ve been having the same thoughts.” Greg says to Steven as he tells him the plan. “You are both Gem and Human. You deserve to be part of both worlds. And what better way to do that than to experience good ol’ public education.” 

“You never finished high school, though, did you?” Steven asks innocently. His Dad rubs his neck bashfully. “Yeah..well, I wanted an early career I guess. Didn’t make the best decision, but it got me here.” He then looks at Steven with a stern expression. “But that doesn’t mean I want you to do what I did, though, kiddo.” 

Steven chuckles. No, he’d never do that. He tells his father exactly that. 

Xxxx

Connie’s excited about the news. Once all was said and done, and every parent figure in Steven’s life (minus the Diamonds, but they didn’t really count) had decided on the same thing, that Steven was to enroll at school, she’d immediately asked if he could go to the same school she went to. 

“Please, Mr. Universe? West Ocean High is really the only good school around that’s close. And it’s only one town over. My parents let me go because it’s got this space program I can enroll in the next year that I really wanted in, and it’s a much better school than Beach City High. So, please?” 

Oh, jeez, she was giving his Dad the Puppy Eyes. Steven could never resist that. 

Neither could his Dad. 

“Alright, I’ll allow it. Steven can go to West Ocean.” At that, both he and Connie looked at each other with glee. Dad chuckled at them before adding, “That only leaves how he’s going to get there...I’m too busy with the carwash at that time, and he can’t exactly ride Lion. That’d be too suspicious, especially when he’s trying to ‘lay low’.”

Steven and Connie only smile wider at each other. “Carpool?” Connie asks him. 

“Carpool.” Steven agrees. 

Maybe this will be a good idea. 

Xxxx

Shopping for School supplies was actually fun, considering it was already three months into the school year and everything was off sale now. But as Steven walked down the aisles with Pearl and Connie, he found his excitement growing ever higher. 

“Look at this sparkly backpack! It has sequins!” He gestures to Connie, who looks at it approvingly. 

“It’s definitely you. All so colorful.” She spots something behind him. “Hey, what about that one, though.” Steven turns around. His eyes widen and he gasps in delight.

“Omigosh, it’s a starry backpack! It looks...just like my shirt!” Steven exclaims, looking between his red star shirt and the bright, red and yellow star backpack hanging on the shelf. He quickly pulls it from its rack and plops it in the cart. Pearl comes in then, dropping a couple packs of unsharpened pencils and pens into the cart. Her head tilts at seeing the addition Steven had put in. 

“I thought you already had a backpack.” She said, picking it up to look at it. Steven laughed a bit at that. 

“Ah, the cheeseburger backpack. Oh, yeah.” He rubs his neck. “I don’t exactly think that’s ‘school appropriate’. Maybe mission appropriate, but not for school.” Pearl nods at that. She seems oddly relieved. 

“Hey, Steven, come choose your notebooks! You’ll need a lot!” Connie calls then, pulling Steven away from memories about adventures with his old backpack. He races to her, and sees a whole collection of colorful notebooks, ranging from solid colors to entire designs. He smiles widely. Yeah, school shopping was fun!

Xxxx

After their shopping spree, came the actual enrollment. Steven’s Dad had to call the school, make an appointment with the Principal there, and discuss Steven’s enrollment before he could actually go. His Dad told him that they needed to look at Steven’s records to see what level he was at, whatever that meant. He was going to be a freshman, wasn’t he? Anyway, while that was taking place, Steven and Connie made arrangements with Connie’s parents to make carpooling happen. It took a little while to get them to agree, but the plans were underway. 

Now all Steven had to do was wait. In a few days, they would go to the school and he would take a couple tests to see where he currently stood, in terms of education, (which Steven thought was entirely unnecessary as they already had his records now) and then he was to take a visit to the nearest clinic, where he would get a physical so that the school knew how he stood medically wise. 

Which was a problem. 

Steven had never gone to the doctors or any kind of hospital for a reason. One, because he’d never needed to and two, because of his strange heritage. 

The people of Beach City may be okay with Gemkind, but what about the rest of the world? 

That’s why he was going undercover. And a few days later, after his tests, he and his father came to Dr. Maheswaran’s office.

“I can give him a physical myself, have me appointed as his physician, but because of his Gem I don’t know how that affected the rest of his body.” Dr. Maheswaran said to Greg. “If it’s anywhere off from how ‘normal’ Humans function I’m going to have to make changes. Which is illegal.” She narrowed her eyes at that. “What I’m doing now is already illegal.” 

On the patient’s table, Steven fidgeted. He already didn’t really like how he had to lie about what he was if he were to do this, but to make someone do something extremely illegal just to make that happen? He didn’t know how to feel about that. 

“Trust me, Doctor, what you’re doing isn’t illegal.” His Dad said smoothly. Steven blinked at that. “It’s doctor-patient confidentiality.” 

Dr. Maheswaran did not look amused. But, she set to work anyway, picking up her clipboard and marking things off. 

"Now, to start our exam. Steven, I need you to relax and pull up your sleeve." Dr. Maheswaran turns around and digs through her equipment. 

As she picked up a needle and flicked it, walking towards him, Steven gulped. 

Ohh boy…

Xxxxx

The day of Choosing Electives and Tour of the School was here. Two days from Monday, Steven’s first day, and he could hardly wait. As his Dad’s van pulled up to the front of the school, he almost couldn’t keep his excitement down. 

The large, brick brown building was decorated in the front with blue and white flags. They looked like they had a wave design going on. One part of the school was completely glass covered, but it was dark so he couldn’t quite see the inside. And on the roof of that area was what Steven assumed was the school mascot; a great big shark bursting out of the ‘sea’. Lapis would get a kick out of that, he thinks to himself. 

“Ready to head in?” Dad calls from the front seat. Steven beams at him, and all but races to get out of the car. His Dad is softly chuckling at him as he runs up to the front doors. As he gets there, he notices a tall, thin woman on her phone standing just outside. As she sees him, she ends her call and smiles down at him. 

“You must be the new student.” She says, voice warm. She holds out her hand for him to shake. Steven happily accepts it. 

“I’m the Vice Principal here at West Ocean. You may call me Ms. Piers,” She said to him. “Now, let’s go inside and work everything out, why don’t we?” 

Steven and his father step inside the school and follow Ms. Piers. Steven’s already in wonder. The place was huge! No wonder Connie had begged her parents to go here! The ceilings were high, and the floor was an interesting gleam of tilework, patterns of white and blue dotted fashionably around the entrance hall. And in the middle, where the hall split up to form a four-way, was an emblem of the school mascot, emblazoned on the tiles. And, hanging majestically from the ceiling just above it, was the school’s two flags. One blue and white and saying, ‘West Ocean High, Home of the Sharks’, and one colored olive green and with the NASA symbol on it. 

Ms. Piers noticed his amazement. “I know, it’s a real wonder. We’ve actually been funded by NASA’s space program since we were founded, which was all due to our involvement in it.” She turns to him with a wide smile. 

“You wouldn’t happen to be interested in joining our space program next year, would you? You seem like a smart boy.” 

Steven laughed politely at that. “Oh, no, actually. My best friend is gonna be in it though. She’s really excited.” Ms. Piers nodded kindly. 

“Yes, yes. Ms. Maheshwaran, right?” Steven jolted at her words. She knew they were friends? Huh. Perhaps Connie had told her about him. “She’s a very intelligent young girl. We’re so thankful to have such aspiring young students at our school.” 

Steven nodded excitedly at that. “Yeah! She is really smart! I’d bet she’d do really well in the program!” 

Ms. Piers smiled. “Yes, I look most forward to that.” She clasps her hands. “And you know, Mr. DeMayo*, if you ever change your mind about joining our gifted program,” she leaned in. “Know that I’ll be quick to enroll you.” 

Steven rubbed his neck. “Heh...you seem to like the idea of me joining a lot, huh?” He says, staring up at her warm brown eyes. 

“Oh, yes,” She tells him. “We always have room for talented, special children in our program.”

“We could always use them.” 

Xxxxx

Steven’s schedule was officially set after two hours of deciding and touring. He’d decided to go with music, art and theater for his electives, which really excited him. He already knew he was good at music, what with him playing all the time, he genuinely enjoyed art, despite not being the best at it, and he loved acting a lot as well. 

So far, his schedule looked like this: 

First hour, Algebra 1. Second hour, Orchestra. Third hour, Painting 1. Fourth hour, PE, and in between fourth and fifth hour was lunch, to which he’d go to English 9. Sixth hour was Science. And finally, at the end of the day, Theater. 

Steven stares at his new schedule as his Dad drove home, memorizing room numbers and teacher’s names. Once he got back home, he would call Connie and they would compare their schedules, too see which classes they had together. It would be quite a shame if they didn’t have at least one together, though Steven remembers Connie telling him that she took both Art and Orchestra. But that didn’t exactly mean they’d have it at the same time, though…

Luckily, once they’d looked at their schedules later that day, they did have a couple classes together. Math, Orchestra, and Science. Only three classes, (where Steven had been hoping for all seven, embarrassingly enough) but it was at least one and that would satisfy. Besides, they both had Lunch together as well, so there’s that. 

And at the end of the day, when Steven was in bed, Lion curled up impossibly at his side, he couldn’t help the large smile stretching across his face as he thought about Monday. 

He may be busy. He may be putting even more on his plate with this new school. But this would be an experience he was sure he was not going to regret. And Connie would be there every day as well. 

He wouldn’t regret this. 

But as he drifted off into dreams about bands and rainbow coloring's and new, amazing friends, he couldn’t stop the nagging feeling inside him that screamed that something wasn’t quite right. 

Afterall, he was going to a school undercover. 

Something was bound to go wrong. 


	2. The First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as you might have noticed, this is a way longer chapter than last times', which I'm very happy about! I personally think of last chapter to be a bit of a prologue of a sort. This story will definitely be long, and therefore I'll write longer chapters. But because of that, updates will be sort of sporadic.   
No summary this time, because there's just so much going on this chapter, so we'll just get right into the fic. Happy reading!

“You have all your things, right?” 

“Yes, Pearl.” 

“Are you sure? Maybe we should double check…” 

“I’m sure, Pearl.” 

“Oh, wait! Your lunchbox! Where-” 

Gesturing to the light blue bag sitting on the counter next to him, Steven gave Pearl a look full of exasperated amusement. It was forty minutes before school started, and Pearl had been running herself mad making sure Steven had everything he needed for his first day. She’d been at it for what feels like twenty minutes now...

“-Ah...I see. Well, it seems as though you’ve gotten everything you need...” Pearl said, giving the room another scrutinizing look. Steven breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she was done. Maybe he could go now? 

“Hold on a moment!” Ah...nevermind. Steven paused in walking to the door and turned back around to see Pearl, holding her arms out, a stern look on her face. 

“You know you can’t leave without giving me a hug.” 

Well, of course he can’t. Chuckling softly, he gives her a tight hug, then makes his way back to the door. Already he can see Dr. Maheswaran’s car parked beside the beach, but before he could step outside to get to the car, Pearl yelled after him. 

“Wait!” 

He turns around. His lunchbox is in her hand. 

“Now you have everything,” Pearl says, giving him the bag as he gives her a sheepish grin.  


“Oh, and remember, Steven,”

“You have to go back to Homeworld after school.” Steven’s smile fell off his face. 

Ugh. How could he forget? He’s supposed to be overseeing trials to get previous ‘bad gems’ free, something he had been pushing for for about two months now. Not to mention he has to be at another lesson with White (he’s teaching her how to be a better Gem). His displeasure must have shown on his face as Pearl gave a tut and leaned back down for another hug. 

“See, this is why your father and I thought it would be good for you to do more human things. Honestly, the Diamonds are running you ragged having you answering their beck and call and keeping you away for ‘duties.’” Pearl told him with a sigh. “And I know most of the things you go to are things _you_ decide to do yourself, but still.” 

“I know, Pearl.” Steven says. “That’s why I was so excited about going to West Ocean, because it was something new and totally not gem-related. Also, I get to see Connie more..” He adds the last part as a low mumble, but judging from Pearl’s smug smirk she heard all of it. 

A sudden, loud car horn broke their attention away from their conversation, and Steven turns around with a gasp. 

“Oh, I gotta leave! Dr. Maheswaran’s getting a little impatient..” Pearl nods understandably and, after a final wave goodbye, he is off and out of the house. 

Connie and her mother look bored when he enters the car, but Connie immediately perks up when he gets in. Steven hears Dr. Maheswaran’s off-handed comment about how she hopes he ’doesn’t make her wait this long again’, but doesn’t respond, instead focusing on the girl next to him. 

“Excited for your first day?” She asked him, giving him a wide grin. Steven smiles back and nods happily. 

“This kinda reminds me of my first few missions,” Steven tells her, rubbing his neck. “Where everything was a new experience. I’m...kinda entering a whole new world here.” 

“You kinda are,” Connie agrees. “High school sometimes feels like a completely different dimension.” 

“What if it _is_ a completely different dimension?” Steven asks, eyes wide with stars. 

“I doubt it is, but that would be cool.” She giggles, and Steven sees Dr. Maheswaran looking back at them with a half amused glance. 

“So, what are your friends at school like?” Steven asks, changing the subject. Connie lights up at that. 

“Oh! You’re gonna love them! You already know about Jeff - that boy I told you about a year ago, he goes to this school too! And then there’s Leif and Chloe. Leif kinda reminds me of Amethyst sometimes, cause she’s really spunky. And Chloe is kinda shy, but she’ll warm up to you pretty quick.” 

“They sound really cool!” 

“They are! I actually only just met Leif and Chloe this year, but already we’ve gotten pretty close. I can tell you more about them if you’d like?” Connie looks at him with expectant eyes. 

“Uh, yes please! Tell me about them, what are they like? What classes do you have with them? Will I have any classes with any of them?” 

Connie laughs at his onslaught of questions. “Slow down, there! That’s a lot of questions!” She then takes out her phone, unlocking it and entering the photo gallery. 

She brings up a picture of four teenagers, and Steven can see Connie in the middle of the group, Jeff at her left. The other two kids in the picture are two girls, one a tall redhead and one a relatively short brunette. Connie is holding up her phone, seemingly taking a selfie. The background is that of a locker-filled hallway, presumably by Connie’s, as he recognizes the half-opened locker door he’d seen into a couple days ago. 

Connie points at the tall redhead. “That’s Leif. She and I met in science class, where we bonded over our shared dislike for our teacher. We’re lab partners.” 

“The science teacher’s mean?” Steven asks her, concern in his voice. Connie laughs once at this, looking back at the image of Leif. 

“Yeah, he is. Sadly you have him too, but,” her voice gains a sing-song tone, “you at least have him with us, so you won’t suffer alone.” 

“Connie, am I hearing you talking rude about your teachers?” Dr. Maheswaran called from the front seat, as Steven giggles at Connie’s words. Connie, ever bold, shrugs nonchalantly, and says, 

“Well, it’s true. Pretty much everyone suffers in his class. Remember that time you asked me why I hadn’t completed that one assignment I told you I did and it turns out he just never graded it? And it took a week before he actually did?” Connie tells her mother, as the latter gains a dis-pleasured expression. 

“Oh, right, that one.” Connie’s mother sighs. “I don’t know _why_ he hasn’t been fired yet..” She mutters, and Steven feels something akin to nervousness creeping up his skin. There are bad teachers at the school? That doesn’t sound good…

Connie must have seen his expression, because she shook herself and went back to talking about her friends with newfound gusto. 

“Leif and I actually met Chloe together, two weeks after we became friends.” She told him, pointing to the image of the short brunette. “She was sitting all alone at the lunch table..and it kinda reminded me of how I used to be. So we invited her to come sit with us, and we’ve been friends ever since!” 

“Aww, how sweet!” Connie blushes a little. 

“Totally proves just how much you’ve grown as a person!” Connie blushes a little more. She then lightly punches his shoulder, laughing when he fakes hurt. The two of them laugh together, maybe a bit too loud, as Dr. Maheswaran glances back at them with an ‘ehem.” 

They blink at each other for a few moments before falling back into hushed laughter. Connie’s mother is left rolling her eyes, but at least she has a small smile on her face. 

Connie rubs her sides, achy with too much excitement, as they calm down. She glances out the window for a moment then springs back into action. 

“Oh, we’re almost there!” She turns back to him. “I haven’t told you yet what classes you have my friends with!” 

“That’s right! Better tell me fast, I can already see the school!” He looks out the window and sees the large, dark grey- brick building up ahead. It’s just as grand the second time he sees it. 

Connie clears her throat. “Alright, well, we have math with Jeff. Then we go to orchestra with Chloe,” she says, counting off her fingers. “After that Chloe and I walk to honors English, and you go to painting 1, but none of us have that class-.” 

“-Aww, that’s too bad.” 

“-Yeah, I know...Uh, then I’ve got my history class and you’ve got PE, which, again, none of the others have at that time, sorry. But we do all have lunch together so there’s that! But then we split up again, and Leif, Chloe and I go to PE and you and Jeff go to English.” 

“At least we all get at least one friend that hour, though!” 

“Yeah, before Jeff was all alone..” 

“Then I came!” 

“Then you came,” Connie replied, nodding respectfully. She continued, “Ugh, then you, me and Leif have science with that guy, which is sure to be a wonderful time, and then, finally, you and Chloe go to Theater, I go to creative writing, and Jeff and Leif go to drawing 1.” 

“I gotta admit, I’m pretty excited about theater!” Steven says, as they enter the school parking lot. Connie smiles back at him, slinging her backpack over one shoulder. “I wonder if I’ll get any leading roles.” 

“Oh, trust me, Steven, you probably will.” Connie tells him as the car comes to a stop in the drop-off area. Steven fumbles for his own backpack and lunchbox. 

“How do you know?” They get out of the car, wave goodbye to Dr. Maheswaran, and head for the entrance. Connie glances back at him with a proud grin. Something warm lights up inside of Steven at seeing her expression. 

“I just do.”

* * *

Walking into the school when it’s full of other students is much different than when Steven came for his tour. For one thing, it made the grounds look a lot more lively, as kids hustled to their lockers; their classrooms; talking with their friends. Steven looked around at all the chaos, watching as one adult pestered a group of stationary kids seemingly doing nothing and told them to head to class. 

“I gotta get to my locker,” Connie told him, looking back at him. “Sucks they put yours so far away from mine.” 

“Meet you in math class, with Jeff?” Steven asks her, as he pulls out his schedule so as to remember where he’s supposed to go. Connie nods, and then turns around to get to her locker, giving him a short wave goodbye, saying as she goes, 

“We’ll meet Chloe and Leif real soon, okay?”

After returning her wave with a happy grin, Steven looks down at his paper, finding the number for his locker, wracking his brain as he tries to remember just where is was. But as he walks down the long hallway in search of it, he notices out of the corner of his eye that people are looking at him. 

A sliver of self-consciousness pools in his belly, but he stamps it down fast. So what if people look at him? He’s used to it, and he’s new here. But he also can’t help noticing that every other kid here, even other freshman, are taller than him by at least a couple inches. 

_So they’re staring at me because I’m small, huh? That’s okay, I’m at least used to that_. He thinks, as he turns down one hallway, perking up when he sees his locker number among the row on the right side of the wall. _The only thing they’re gonna stare at me for is looking younger than a highschooler, not because I’m half alien_. 

And that’s true. Steven had told himself many times the past couple days that no one at his new school is going to figure out his gem side unless he uses his powers, or tells them directly. His shirt hides his gem, so they won’t notice his ‘strangeness’ that way, and he has no other physical attributes to gems than that. T_hey won’t notice, so I’m okay. _

_I’m just a normal kid here, he tells himself as he opens his locker to rummage through his things. _

_That’s what I want, right? _

He shuts his locker when he’s done, ready to head to class, and he turns around...-

-only to crash into someone behind him. 

“Oh, jeez, I’m so sorry!” He cries, as the boy he’d bumped into falls unceremoniously to the ground with an “oof!” But the other kid only chuckles a bit, rubbing his backside as he gets back up, taking Steven’s offered hand. 

“It’s fine, happens all the time.” The other boy says, pushing his bangs back from his face. Standing now, Steven has to look up at him, as the other boy is a whole head and a half taller than him. Steven rubs his neck as he watches the taller boy turn to his locker, which was right next to Steven’s. 

“So are you new here? Or did you just move lockers?” The other boy asks him as he retrieves his binder. 

“Oh, I’m new.” He looks up at the taller boy as he turns back around with his bag. “This is my first day.” 

“Let’s hope it’s a good one then, huh?” The other boy smiles at him, and Steven finds himself smiling back with ease. 

“My name’s Steven, by the way.” He holds out his hand. The other boy takes it and shakes once. 

“Austin Fueller. Nice to meet you, Steven.”

* * *

He and Austin part ways. Steven is a little sad they can’t talk a bit more, as the other boy seems pretty nice, but after catching a look at his schedule, Austin tells him they actually have a couple classes together. So this won’t be the last he’ll see of him. 

He’s smiling when he gets to his first class. Making friends already, always a great way to start! Even though he met him by bumping into him and causing him to spill all his things on the floor…

Shaking his head, he opens the door to his math class and heads inside. Almost immediately, he sees Connie. She’s sitting in a desk near the center of the class, and Jeff is in the desk behind hers. There’s an empty desk right beside Connie’s. 

“I asked Ms. Bones if you could sit next to me, and she actually said yes! Can you believe that?” She says excitedly. Steven’s smile is crazy wide now, and part of him is worried he looks like a maniac. But, this day is just going so well! First he meets someone new and nice who didn’t attack him at first sight, and then he gets to sit next to his crush best friend! What more could he ask for?

He’s well aware of a couple of students who study him from afar as he makes his way towards Connie, but he doesn’t let that dampen his mood. Now that he’s finally here, he’ll finally see how school is. His excitement is bubbling in his chest as he sits down and waits for the bell to ring. It’s only after a few moments of hushed, happy talking with Connie and Jeff that he notices the teacher (Connie called her Ms. Bones) was not in the classroom. 

“Uh...where’s our teacher? Isn’t she supposed to be here?” Steven says, looking to Connie, who’s brow is furrowed in confusion. 

“I dunno...she’s always here before I get here. Maybe she just got caught up in teacher stuff.” She shrugs, fiddling with her pencil. Behind her, Jeff adds, “Maybe she’s just in the bathroom,” to which the three of them nod in consideration together. 

However, after the bell rings, and all the students have trickled in, Ms. Bones still had yet to show. Steven’s apprehension grows, and some of the kids around him start wondering as well, chatting among groups as to why their teacher hadn’t shown up. A few others look like they just don’t care. 

Five minutes after the bell had rung and their teacher still a missing piece, one student stood up and marched to the teacher’s desk. A tall, burly boy with a backwards cap, and a sly smirk. He promptly sits down at Ms. Bones’ seat, and puts his feet up on the desk, reclining in her chair. 

“Guess the class is mine now, huh?” He grins. And Steven feels dislike for the guy almost as quick as he felt towards Kevin. How dare he impersonate their teacher?! Even if she’s absent, he shouldn’t be acting like this! 

He’s about to give this boy a piece of his mind when the very subject of the matter rushes into the room. A flustered, blonde woman carrying stacks of computer paper speed-walks into the classroom, balancing a steamy cup of coffee with her last free fingers. As she makes her way in, she says to the class in an out-of-breath voice, 

“Sorry about that, everyone, I got held up in the teacher’s lounge; the printer just randomly decided to stop working on me.” 

She heads over to her desk, but falls short when she sees the unwelcome guest sitting in her chair. 

“Uh, good morning, Micheal. You aren’t supposed to be there.” She states, setting her burdens down at her desk. The boy at her desk - Micheal - stares up at her with half-lidded eyes, a playful smirk on his face. But he gets up, and saunters his way back to his own seat, saying under his breath “nice while it lasted” as he goes. 

Ms. Bones turns to the class as he sits down, pulling one part of her stack of papers from the rest. This must be their classwork? She goes around the room and hands everyone a copy. And as she makes her way to Steven’s desk, her eyes gain a happy glint and she stops at his desk. 

“You must be Steven, our new student.” She turns to the rest of the class. “Everyone, this is our new student, Steven. He joined us after…” She turns back to him. “Being home-schooled all previous years?” She asked, raising her eyebrow in question. Steven smiles shyly, and nods. 

Everyone’s looking at him now. But so are Connie and Jeff, and they aren’t bad. So Steven gives a short laugh and raises his hand and greets the class with a wave. He’s happy to see that most everyone turns their heads back to the teacher after a few moments, as she begins their lesson. 

Most...everyone. Steven tries to concentrate on listening to his new teacher, as she talks about linear and non-linear equations and how to solve them, but he can’t help but notice out the corner of his eye that the cap-wearing kid, Micheal, never stops staring at him.

* * *

First hour ends with nothing particularly strange, besides the irritating staring from a certain boy, and the next couple classes go smoothly, so Steven is satisfied. 

He and Connie wave bye to Jeff as they walk together towards Orchestra, where Steven meets his music teacher Mrs. Daly, a plump, anxious woman with frazzled hair, but a lovely voice. He immediately takes a liking to her, when she sees that he’s proficient at pretty much all the instruments in her classroom, and agrees to his request to have the piano as his set instrument despite it not being one of the chooseable instruments. 

He also meets Chloe in person, who plays the cello. She is a bit shy at first, like Connie had said, but he could tell she had warmed up to him by the end of the class as he told her about all the instruments he knew how to play, as she listened with amazement. (“You have _perfect pitch_ too?”) His face is pretty red as she says that, to Connie’s amusement. He and Connie also had fun at the last few minutes of the class playing a fun little duet on their piano and violin respectively, much to Mrs. Daly’s glee. 

His next class, painting, was also very fun, despite him not having it with any of his friends. Mr. Evans, a tall, slim, ginger-haired man with paint splattered on his hands, was very kind. While at first glance he seemed to be a man of high expectations for his students, he turned out to be non-judgmental, and even applauded Steven’s own art (which he thought was very crude compared to some other kids’) and gave him some pointers towards figure-drawing, which Steven greatly appreciated. He made an acquaintance with one of his table-mates as well, who complimented the progress he’d made on painting the city sky-line he’d started. 

PE was ...a bit stressful, however. There were no places he could hide behind while he changed clothes, besides the bathroom, which he would have used had they not all been in use. So he’d spent his first few minutes of class changing his shirt as fast he could so no one could see his gem...or the faint lines surrounding it, which was also sure to raise suspicion. 

He’d gained quite a few raised eyebrows at his antics from the other boys as he was changing. Luckily, no one said anything to it, which he was at least thankful for. He was also thankful for the fact that Austin was in this class too. At least he had one friend in this hour, despite barely knowing the guy.

When the time came for PE class to begin, their teacher, Ms. Steiner, a well-built lady who reminded him of a shorter, friendlier Jasper, had announced to the class that they’d be running a mile around the track. While most of his classmates groaned and complained about this, Steven was unperturbed by the task. Despite him being on the stockier side, with all the training he’d done, he was actually pretty fit. 

Which was a bit of a concern, actually. He’s supposed to be laying low, having fun, and learning more about the human world. He can’t really lay low if he leaves everyone behind going at his normal running pace, which was quite a bit faster than a normal boy of his age and size, and sure to leave people suspicious. So he’d had to slow himself down, and go about the pace of the other, moderately fit kids in the class. That way he won’t be too suspicious, but he also wouldn’t feel as though he wasn’t trying at all, as this was for a grade. 

(As he thought that, his mind flashed to an image of Pearl Points, which Steven was a bit remiss didn’t exist in public schools.)

  
After the run, and after changing back out of his gym clothes (thankfully using one of the stalls this time, lucky him) it was time for lunch, which he was quite eager for. He and Austin walked together to the lunch room, as Steven told Austin about his friends. Austin seemed pretty interested in them, and Steven was happy to hear he wanted to meet them. They found them pretty quickly too, sitting under a tree outside and waving to them to get their attention. 

The six of them formed quite the group. Leif, who Steven quickly figured out was quite the rambunctious girl, loved the idea of having more friends, and quickly warmed up to both Steven and Austin. And as Steven got to know more about his new friends, discussing interests and hobbies and even picking out times to hang out after school, he knew he’d made a pretty good choice coming here. 

But as Connie was happily telling the group about the next installment of Unfamiliar Familiar (which they all shared a liking towards, funny that) and Jeff was nudging a red-faced Chloe closer to Lief (who Steven was sure the shy girl had a huge crush on) he began to feel something strange in the air. 

That strangeness turned about to be the return of some unwanted attention from nearby, in the form of Micheal. Not again. Steven saw out of the corner of his eye the slicked-back hair of his watcher, as he stared at him from across the field. He had a pretty blonde with him too, and she was also staring at him with burning intensity. Wary and uncomfortable, it took the concerned voice of Connie to snap him out of his cautious stance, who gave him a tight squeeze on the shoulder. 

“You alright? You kinda spaced out there for a moment.” She told him, as he turned back to the group. He rubbed his neck in embarrassment, and to try to stop the oncoming anxiety from coming on. Behind Connie, the others were gazing at him with concern in their eyes, and Steven feels a wave of shame for worrying them like this. 

“Oh, I’m okay just...lost in thought.” He told them, a bit lamely. 

“Ah, already beaten down by school stress?” Austin chuckled. “It’s a killer.” 

Steven’s eyes widened. “That kills people?!” He turns to Connie, who’s now laughing into her hand. “Connie, why did you never tell me this?!” 

The group falls into laughter, Steven included. And it is with great relief that Steven finds, after he’s done cracking up, that the two mysterious students are no longer staring at him. In fact, when Steven looks around to see if they are, he can’t even find them. But the relief is short lived. 

Why were they staring at him in the first place?

* * *

Nothing especially interesting was happening in fifth hour so far, which was English class. Steven was content to just listen to the slightly boring voice of his new teacher, Mr. Davis, as he droned on about poetry. 

Actually, ‘listening’ is putting it lightly. As Steven is quick to discover, he does not like the poetry unit that much. He spends his time this class writing down the notes he’s supposed to, as Pearl would be disappointed if she heard he wasn’t paying attention in class, which he would hate to have happen, but mostly he was thinking about earlier. 

Why were Micheal and that girl staring at him? Micheal had been staring at him all day the times he had him in his class, and it was incredibly uncomfortable. Had he done something to him? Does he know him, and he just forgot? Is that what it is? Is Micheal just salty because Steven doesn’t remember him and thus trying to get his attention by burning holes into his skin with his constant staring?!

Okay...he’s going a bit overboard there. But he can’t help but obsess over what this could all mean. It’s only been a day. And it’s not even over yet! There has to be some explanation as to why they’re acting like this. 

_I don’t even know them. _

_But do they know _me_? _

“Mr. DeMayo, I know poetry isn’t really a subject most kids enjoy, but please get your head out of the clouds. I asked you a question.” Steven jolts at Mr. Davis’ low voice, snapped out of his thoughts. Ah, darn. Pearl is going to be disappointed. He rubs his neck as he looks up at his teacher’s expectant eyes. Across the table, Jeff gives him a remorseful look. 

“Uh...could you repeat the question please?” He asked innocently. Mr. Davis rolls his eyes, but repeats it anyways. Steven sighs in relief and does his best to give him a good enough answer. 

He can’t quite shake himself from his worries though. 

  
He and Jeff part ways after English, which they are both happy to be over with. After waving goodbye, Steven makes his way down the stairs to meet Connie and Leif in Science. But along the way, he remembers something important Connie had told him in the car earlier. 

The Science teacher’s _mean_. 

Great, another jerk to deal with. Rolling his eyes as he thinks of what Connie had said earlier, he opens the door to the classroom. 

And almost immediately wishes he kept it shut. 

There, sitting in the second table from the front, were the cutting grey eyes of Micheal, and they almost instantly found his own. Micheal’s face breaks out into a sly grin, and Steven holds down the urge to leave. 

_Now I don’t just have him first hour and see him at lunch, I have him science class too!?_ He screams internally. _That’s it, this is going to drive me insane._

At least Connie’s here again, as well as Leif, who are both waiting expectantly for him to come to their desks. Connie has the same concerned, wary expression he had earlier, and Steven realizes he should move. _Other people_ are beginning to stare too. 

However, before he could get to their desks, trying to block out the heavy staring he feels at his back, he’s interrupted by a rather nasally voice. He jumps, for it came from just behind him. 

“Mr. DeMayo, was it?” Steven turns around. A rather old, greying man stood tall and proud behind him, goggles on his forehead and hands clasped behind his back. Steven immediately did not like him, his cold pale green eyes showing hints of madness... “Sorry, but your seat is not over there. As you can see, that table is already full. And the only free spot is over there, next to Mr. Vix.” 

He’s pointing, and Steven follows his sight. His stomach falls. 

There is only one free seat. And it’s right next to Micheal.

* * *

“We’ll be starting our earth unit today. Turn to page 394 of your textbooks. I want you all to read the chapter explaining how the earth was formed and then write a four paragraph paper on what you’ve learned. I’ll be collecting them before the bell, so everyone, get it done.” 

Steven could hardly listen to Mr. Ritter’s voice - who he’d learned the name of only just now - as his entire mind was a mess of internal screaming. 

Because Micheal would _not. Stop. Staring_. 

He’s been staring at him with that stupid smile the whole three minutes since class started, and while it was nothing he hadn’t already seen before, because he was so close to him it was so much worse. And he couldn’t look to Connie for guidance, who he no doubt already figured out he was being stared at, considering he can hear her talking softly to Leif tables away. 

Between cold, harsh science teachers and strange tablemates, Steven was absolutely, positively sure this was going to be his least favorite class. 

Mr. Ritter wasn’t even in the class anymore. Instead, he was in the next room over, where Steven could hear soft tinkering being done. Was he doing work for another class? 

No, he didn’t want to know. All he wanted to know right now, was why the _hell_ this kid next to him won’t stop staring at him like he was some sort of circus freak. Because surely he didn’t know who he was! 

Totally not like he’d been told he was half alien, right?! Right?! 

_Okay, Universe,_ focus_._ He told himself. _You’ve got an hour to read this chapter about things you already know, and four paragraphs to write. Let’s not make inner Pearl any more disappointed. _

It was kinda hard to focus however when you have someone breathing down your neck, though. And when he couldn’t quite get the image of Mr. Ritter’s dark eyes out of his mind. 

He tried his best though. That’s all that matters. 

  
Mr. Ritter comes back into the room twenty minutes before the bell rings, and he’s not in a very good mood. True to Connie’s words, the more Steven hears him speak, the more he thinks he’s a jerk. Already he’d snapped at four students just for being a little louder than silent, and he’d taken three kids’ phones. 

Steven also notices with more dread building in his stomach that Mr. Ritter’s eyes often flick over to him, that same analyzing look Micheal has. Which still hasn’t left yet; the taller boy still glancing at him constantly. 

He’s longing for this hour to end. And he’s longing to go back to the usual gem stuff, despite what he’d felt earlier. He’d take any of that, the boring Diamond meetings to the helping uncorrupted gem business, over being here and goggled at like a zoo animal. 

Just when he says that, something pink and familiar catches his eye. 

_Oh, for the love of- Right when I say that-_

Outside the window, a small, pink, corrupted gem monster shambles about the field close to the school. Steven can only see it thanks to years of practice. His hand is in the air faster than he can think. 

Mr. Ritter stares at him with those cold eyes, and he really feels as though he’s being looked through. He steels himself though. He needs to go out and catch it. No matter if he’ll be losing time to do his work. 

“Mr. Ritter, may I use the bathroom?” He asks politely, forcing himself to look straight into his teacher’s icy eyes. Mr. Ritter stares down at him, displeased. 

“You’re new here, so I know I haven’t told you I don’t give out bathroom breaks before work is complete.” Steven’s mouth falls open. What!? What kinda teacher _is_ this man!? 

“Uh-please, Mr. Ritter sir, it’ll be just this once?” He asks again. At his side, Micheal is watching with a wide smile. Steven feels his impatience grow. He adds in another “_Please_?” 

“Alright.” Mr. Ritter says, unexpectedly. At this, the entire class falls dead quiet. Apparently that wasn’t something often said in this room. “But only this once. And come back no later than one minute.” 

Steven almost doesn’t care about the insane time limit, he’s just so relieved. So he stands up, says a quick, rushed thank you to the teacher, and leaves the room with a sigh, Micheal’s stares following him as he goes. 

  
He’s not back in one minute, and Mr. Ritter is not pleased. He’s back in ten minutes, and if Connie and Leif’s sympathetic and scared looks and Micheal’s half-crazy one tells him anything, he’s really screwed up. 

Mr. Ritter is sitting at his desk, holding a watch in his hands when he returns and he saunters up to Steven’s desk with it held tightly in his hands. 

He drops the watch hard on his table when he arrives. Steven flinches hard too. 

“Do you know what this is, Mr. DeMayo?” Mr. Ritter asks him in a cold, icy voice. Steven looks up to him with dread in his belly. 

“I-It’s a watch, sir.” He answers. Mr. Ritter nods, looking down at him accusingly. 

“Yes, and do you know what they do?” He asks him again. 

“It...tells the time?” 

Mr. Ritter nods again, and Steven feels unfamiliar fear building in his gut. 

Unfamiliar because he’s never been scared of a human before. 

But then...no human has _ever_ looked at him like that before. 

“It tells the time, yes it does. And do you remember what I told you before you left this room?” 

“You...you said to only take...one minute, sir.” 

Mr. Ritter peers down at him, and Steven can smell his terrible breath as he breathes right next to him, 

“_And how long did you take instead_?” 

He’s not given time to respond, this time. Mr. Ritter instead slams down something on his desk, and Steven sees a moment afterward it’s a slip of yellow paper. 

“Detention, after school, Mr. DeMayo. Two hours. Maybe there you can learn some time management skills? 

Steven stares down at the slip as shame fills him. Not on his first day….

He looks back behind him and sees Connie and Lief staring at him in shock and horror. 

Then he’s snapped back to the front as Mr. Ritter shouts again, “Detention for you as well, Mr. Vix, for creating a disturbance in my classroom, no matter if he’s one of my new troublemakers..” 

At Steven’s side, Micheal smiles down at his yellow slip with something unreadable in his eyes. 

Yes, Steven really wishes he hadn’t agreed to school...

* * *

He’s still in shock when he makes it to his last class of the day. Steven can barely muster up the energy to be excited about theatre class, after the fiasco last class had been. Chloe, in theatre with him, notices his lack of excitement, and quickly tries to cheer him up. 

“Don’t feel too bad, Steven. Mr. Ritter is mean to everyone. Especially the new kids…” She says as the bell rings. Sgeven can tell by the look in her eyes that that isn’t really what she meant to convey, but he appreciates her effort nonetheless. 

Suddenly, the curtains that were at the back of the room part. Out from behind them pops a rather uniquely dressed man. 

His hair is dyed a deep purple at the ends, and flares out. He’s wearing sunglasses, and looks to be wearing a glittery prince costume. He probably got it off the set. He marches up to the class, strikes a pose, and declares one sentence, 

“Class, _begins_.” 

Steven already likes him so much better than Mr. Ritter. 

All in all, theatre was fun. Mr. Oakman, or as he likes to be called, Ted, was a very engaging teacher, unlike Mr. Davis and especially unlike Mr. Ritter. And his exuberance is what knocks Steven out of his funk, which he is extremely thankful for. 

Ted seemed to have noticed that he was a bit quiet earlier, though, as he stopped him by the door after the final bell rang. 

“Couldn’t help but notice you looking a little down, earlier, bud.” He told him, kind, pale blue eyes peeking from over his slighter lowered sunglasses. Steven grins shyly up at him.

“Oh, that was...that was nothing. Just a little tired from today, is all. First day and all, ya know?” Ted nods understandably, but doesn’t seem totally convinced. 

“See, the thing is, I heard you have Science with...Mr. Ritter before this hour, so I can totally understand your rough mood.” Steven rubs his neck, looking down to the floor. Ted tuts at this, putting one hand on his hip. 

“Mr. Ritter is...not a very good teacher, that I know. I’ve been here for ten years and I’ve seen plenty of excellent science teachers, ready to share the world of their field with their students. But he…” Ted puts a hand to his face. “He came in just last year. Our previous science teacher, Ms. Numan, had quit quite unexpectedly. So suddenly he comes in with his nasty demeanor and every kid who has his class is left in the slumps. 

“What I’m trying to say is…Don’t let him get to you.” Steven looks up at Ted, who’s smiling at him encouragingly. “I can tell you are quite the little star. You’ve got some talent. Don’t let him break you down. I’ve seen it many times before.” His face steels into something a little more serious. 

“I don’t want it to happen any longer.”

* * *

Later that night, after school and after detention, and after explaining to his family that he’d had to stay a little longer (he hadn’t told them exactly why and couldn’t bear to) and after Homeworld Business, he lay in bed with thoughts spiraling in his head. 

A lot of fun things happened today. He made new friends, learned new things, played the piano, painted and acted. He’d definitely had some fun. 

But then he thought of the other things. Micheal, Mr. Ritter, the corrupted Gem interfering...Everything he felt during sixth hour. Lunch. Before school. 

He surely felt like an animal in a zoo, with all the peering done from Micheal, his blonde friend, and the kids before school. 

There may have been more good times than bad, and Steven may have made new friends, new discoveries. He may have learned new stuff, had some fun, had his mind taken off Gem Stuff for a moment…

But beneath all of that, Steven can’t help but wonder if maybe he’s made the wrong decision. 

_Looks like I’ll just have to find out. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ominous enough, yet? :)


End file.
